Female Eye Film Festival - A Tricky Treat
A man is kidnapped by a very strange family, and his fate is held in the hands of two kids.
'A Tricky Treat' presents a shocking tale of the unexpected with a twist.
Watch A Tricky Treat here:
Length: 3:07 min
Director: Patricia Chica
Producers: Patricia Chica, Grace Santos, Byron A. Martin
Writer: Kamal John Iskander
About the writer, director and producer: Patricia Chica (@PatriciaChica) is recognized internationally for her multiple award-winning artsy genre films and is particularly appreciated for her provocative style. Her method explores themes that bring awareness around taboo or delicate subject-matter. Through her sensitive and intuitive approach, she brings a deep and personal dimension to all of her films. (www.PatriciaChica.com)
Kamal John Iskander is an award winning writer and director residing in Los Angeles. Iskander directed the multiple award-winning short Jesus Comes to Town, and has written 7 screenplays. Iskander is also looking forward to producing and directing his award winning feature script, The Gospel According to Charlie. (www.KamalJohnIskander.com)
Tara Kurtz (@kurtz_tara) has worked in all facets of film development including production, location management, casting, and distribution. In addition to producing, Tara has extensive experience in talent management. Her film credits include "Something About Her", "Blue Weekend" and “A Tricky Treat”.
Grace Santos (@Grace_S_Feeney) is an award winning producer and actress known for "Spun" (Honorable Mention -Producers Guild of America’s Weekend Shorts Challenge) and "Silk" (starring Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo of "House of Sand and Fog). (www.gracefeeney.com )
Byron A. Martin (@ByronAMartin) is an award-winning Canadian producer that develops independent film, television and documentary projects. To date he has produced over 70 hours of television, filming projects in over twelve countries. He has produced projects for Disney, Sony, Universal and managed productions for some of Hollywood’s leading producers. (www.ByronMartin.com)
Key cast: Leonard Waldner, Steve Brewster, Andrea Fletcher, Keira McCarthy, Marco Reilly
Looking for: buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists.
Funders: Tara Kurtz, Morris Umali, Patricia Chica, Byron A. Martin
Made in association with: Adonai Interiano of HNI Productions
Release date: July 2015 at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal
Where can I watch it? Female Eye Film Festival (Toronto, Ontario)
And many more.
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This script was given to me by Kamal John Iskander and I just loved the twisted ending of it. I knew that I could bring out the humour out of this somewhat dark story.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
A Tricky Treat is a provocative film that will make you feel mixed emotions raging from fear to disgust, and at the end, everything will make sense, and make you laugh! It’s a very quick short with an impactful and surprising ending that will make you think! In my work, my characters and viewers are given a space to think, act, react and reflect on very contemporary issues. A Tricky Treat allows this same approach, but in a “gory” setting.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Things that I talk about in my films are either situations based on very personal experiences or themes that I’m curious to explore deeper.
I’m a filmmaker who creates content that challenges the status quo and that brings awareness around various contemporary social issues.
My main purpose as a director is to use the artistic language of cinema to open up conversations about material often silenced as taboo or controversial.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
Screenwriter Kamal John Iskander originally wrote A Tricky Treat for himself as an animation short. I adapted the concept to live action, with actors and special effects, which was quite a challenge to say the least because of the hyper realistic look that I wanted to achieve and the “creatures” that were created from scratch. The movie’s success lies on the practical effects created by Danny McCarthy and his team in San Diego, as well as the VFX created by Henry Lipatov, Anton Golovchenko and the team at Fame Cube Production in the Ukraine.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The incredible response from the audiences who laugh every time at film festivals, and the anonymously positive reviews from the media have been overwhelming. Some film critics have called A Tricky Treat a Halloween classic.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback from programmers to the critics, and audiences alike, has been unexpected but not surprising. As soon as I read the script, I knew I had a gem in my hands. The story was so well written and the concept so clever that we just couldn’t fail. I thank Kamal John Iskander for trusting my vision and letting me direct his beautiful script.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I would like to bring awareness about the themes of my films and share my work with your community! I’m also always looking for financing, producing partners and sponsors for my upcoming projects.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I’m presently looking for investors, financiers, executive producers, sales agents and anyone who is interested in getting financially involved in one of my films. I have these two wonderful projects in pre-production: Montréal Girls (dark comedy) and Morning After (drama-comedy).
Montréal Girls is a script I co-developed with A Tricky Treat’s screenwriter Kamal John Iskander. It was a quarter finalist at Scriptapalooza and a finalist at the Global Script Challenge at the Oaxaca FilmFest. It tells the story of a Middle-Eastern student who is going to study in Montreal. Everything goes according to plan, until he meets various alluring Montréal girls. It’s a very compelling fish out of water coming of age story, with the right balance of grit, provocation and emotion.
Morning After is a funny and provocative story about how to find love within the sexually fluid generation. My goal with this film is to perfectly capture the challenges and nuances of the Millennials, and more particularly of a young man's "coming out". He finally decides to explore and accept his sexual identity, as well as to recognize that he may not fall between society’s clean-cut lines. The decisions he makes amid the high stakes for his impulses make Morning After a gripping, touching, and contemporary film for a new, open minded audience.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I want to develop a universal narrative that will speak to local and international audiences, despite their origin, culture, beliefs, gender, age and race. As a director of movies that delve into provocative subject matter, I want to tell stories to the widest possible audience, even shocking stories like A Tricky Treat.
I wanted this movie to have the perfect dose of humor and darkness, and I wanted to tell a story that makes people feel uncomfortable enough to reevaluate their own preconceptions of human consumption, holidays’ consumerism and pagan ceremonial traditions. So far, audiences have understood the tone and message of the film, thanks to the juxtaposition of the horrific visuals with the light-hearted audio track.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
If nature did to human beings what we do to nature, would it be okay?
Would you like to add anything else? Like my pages on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram. You can also watch a lot of my films and videos on my website: www.PatriciaChica.com or my Youtube Channel: Chicatronica https://www.youtube.com/user/chicatronica
Personal Website
www.PatriciaChica.com
Twitter Account
www.twitter.com/PatriciaChica
Facebook Page
www.facebook.com/Patricia-Chica-185993898124050/
Instagram
www.instagram.com/chicatronica/
IMDb Credits
www.imdb.com/name/nm0004509/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/user/chicatronica
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Kamal John Iskander (screenwriter) and I are developing a feature film project called Montréal Girls that just got optioned by Objectif 9, a Montréal based production company.
We are currently seeking additional investors and financial partners to complete the financial structure of this project.
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela